Open World (24 page)

“You’re
right. We weren’t bonded. The rites of our bonding hadn’t been completed in the
beginning, but we finished the rite.” In unison, she and her love stopped the
draining process. She tilted her head as she looked at the whimpering man on
the floor. “You’ve lost, Mabuz.” She shot an amber stream of light at him.
“Henceforth I banish you from my dreams and those of my friend’s and family’s.”

Buzz
screamed and fell in an unconscious heap on the floor. His orange light
disappeared.

Tavis
reached out and took her hand. As he did so, the room and surrounding settings
morphed into their beach. The setting sun sparkled on the water. A soft breeze
blew over them. He cradled her back to his front. Together they stood and
watched the waves lap onto the shore. Three stars peeked out and glinted in the
dusk.

“Think
we destroyed him?”

Tavis
hummed for a few seconds. “Don’t think so. He probably transported himself to
his home in his clan area. But I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
He knows better now than to mess with you.”

With
a smile, she leaned back in his embrace, happy to be in her favorite place with
her love, her protector, who helped her find salvation from her dreams and
realize her potential.

PART SEVEN

Not
Quite the End

Chapter Twenty-One

Alden
jerked awake.

Thunder
boomed overhead, rattling the clubhouse.

Clubhouse?
Shocked to be back in the real
world, he jumped up, knocking down the chair behind him, and gave a quick scan
of the room.

Everyone
was slumped over. Some had fallen forward, face planting onto their keyboards.
Others looked to be sleeping, their chins tucked into the tops of their chest. Den
wondered if all the players were deep into the game, losing themselves in their
characters and acting as if the C.O.V.E.N. world was the real world.
Hopefully their quests aren’t as intense as
mine, Hope’s and the others’ were
.

Hope
.

Den
shot his focus to her. She was one of the ones using the keyboard as a pillow.
Her relaxed face showed no signs of distress.
Good
.

He
placed his hand on her shoulder and rocked her. “Hope?
Darling?”
She didn’t wake or move. Den rubbed a hand over his face, expecting a lot of
stubble and barely feeling any.
Strange
.

“She
won’t wake up. We’ve tried.”

Den
spun toward the soft voice. “Grace?”
Next to her stood her
husband.
“James? You’re here. I’ve been wondering what happened to you.”

“Yeah.
Been here for
a while.
As you know, we went to go talk to the Americhapel clan. We
arrived at the building just fine, but when we walked through the door, there
was a blast of bright white light. Next thing we knew, we’re here.” James ran
his fingers through his already mussed up hair.
“Tried
rousing the troops, but no one’s responsive.”
He pointed to the closest
monitor. “I don’t understand any of this. We tried to hail people through the
message interface. That didn’t work. We attempted to get back in ourselves.
Obviously that didn’t pan out either.”

Grace
grasped Alden’s arm. “How are the girls?”

“They’re
fine. They’re leveling up. Hope gained a small shifting capability along with
some fighting skills. Faith’s gained skills as well. Cassandra…can’t really
say. She went off with her friend. They’re off with their Harlestchapel clan
members I believe. Tavis and I had a quest to do, but it didn’t pan out like we
wanted.”
To say the
least
.

It
surprised him how those he knew
became
their characters so easily and acted as if the game world was the real world. Their
mission for the LAN party was to test out the game in role playing mode. How
the whole thing turned into an open world where players could roam freely
through the virtual world and were given so much freedom in choosing how or
when to approach objectives was beyond him.
But then again…
It also seemed like someone had tweaked the game to play in sandbox mode. A
player with enough know-how to give themselves tools to modify the world
themselves and direct how the game is played.

But
who?

“James?
Who in here has the knowledge to change the game’s code from here?”

“The
few who do wouldn’t jeopardize their jobs by messing with it now. Why?”

“Aside
from the hocus-pocus stuff with us literally getting sucked into the game,
don’t you find it strange how real everything was? How easy it was to
manipulate and be manipulated in there? As for why, I was hoping you might have
a guess.”

“Now
that you mention it, yes, I noticed the play.” James shook his head. “But I
have no clue why. And the people who I’d call to ask are in this room and
locked into the C.O.V.E.N. world.”

Alden
scratched his chin, thinking on what could be his next step. He roamed the room
checking the monitors to see if there were any clues. Just as he neared Mr.
Jenkins’s seat, he remembered the weird daydream he’d had earlier in the day.
He turned back to his girlfriend’s father. “What’s the deal with this guy
anyway? I saw him cozying up to you and your daughters during the picnic.”

“Cor?
He’s a consultant with an auditing firm. I believe he’s from out of the country
though. I was asked to make him feel welcome when he came in to do some QA.
Then when we were looking for bodies for the party to test the game, I figured
I’d invite him. Let him see what we’re really doing. Plus he asked to be
included in opportunities if they came available.” James cocked his head and
raised a brow. “Why? What’s on your mind?”

“I
believe Cor took over playing the character Mabuz. He seemed to be after Hope
before play started, and as you know, she was taken captive, then Faith had her
issues with Buzz. During play, we found out Buzz is Mabuz. He’s working on
behalf of a king.”

James’s
face paled. “I don’t like any of what you’re saying.”

“Believe
me, neither do I. We need to get back into the game. I have to make sure Hope
and the others are okay. Cause
we…
umm…” He bit his
upper lip. “Sir, I’d like to marry Hope. I hope I have your blessing?”

“We
get out of this mess, and I’ll throw you two the biggest engagement party
ever.”

“For Faith and Tavis, too?
I have a feeling he’ll be asking
for her hand the next time you guys meet.”

“Sure.
Grace you hear that? Your girls are spoken for. Grace?”

The
men turned and found Grace slumped in front of her monitor, her hand still on
the mouse.

“Ready to go back in?”

Den
nodded.
“Yep.
We’ll need to keep an eye on Cassandra.
Cor will be after her next.”

The
men took their seats. Alden logged back into the game.

More
thunder boomed, followed by a flash of light and another loud clap in the
atmosphere.

The
pyramid crystals placed around the room glowed once more.

Den
closed his eyes, prepared this time to visit the C.O.V.E.N. world, wondering
what new adventures waited for his friends and loved ones.

The End…
for the moment…

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